


Training with Aunt Nebra

by loafingdragon, subtleassiduities



Series: Boys will be Embarrassing [8]
Category: Black Clover - Tabata Yuki (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Children, Drinking, Embarrassment, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Hot Tub, Parenthood, Playing Outside, Reminiscing, Training, i don't know what to tag this lol, nip slip, she can't get her eyes off his luscious pecs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-17 14:47:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28976124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loafingdragon/pseuds/loafingdragon, https://archiveofourown.org/users/subtleassiduities/pseuds/subtleassiduities
Summary: After he finds that his two-and-a-half-year-old has similar magic to Nebra's, Fuegoleon asks her to be his teacher. She's willing to give it a try- especially if she gets some extra time with the handsome Vermillion. She doesn't know exactly what she's expecting, but it's not this.
Relationships: Nebra Silva/Fuegoleon Vermillion
Series: Boys will be Embarrassing [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1696627
Comments: 3
Kudos: 10





	Training with Aunt Nebra

**Author's Note:**

> Yet another fic where Nebra is embarrassingly thirsty for Fuegoleon. I want to say she's less embarrassing in this, though. 
> 
> This takes place well after Mereloeona and Nozel's almost wedding.

Nebra watched her nephew, a literal toddler, sprint around the courtyard with reckless, childhood abandon. Leocadio looked like a perfect mix of Silva and Vermillion and, as many problems as he had caused her, she knew he would grow into something to be proud of. He was big and strong for his age (or what they expected his age to be), and he had a mane of golden Vermillion hair with a Silva cowlick spiking it up at the side. Even though he was young, she could sense the plentiful magic power flowing through his veins, fitting for a child of such royal lineage. 

Fuegoleon mock roared and scooped him up. He flung Leocadio into the air high enough that Nebra felt a brief shock of alarm before the child fell, squealing with delight, into his arms. “I’ve caught you, now!” Fuegoleon declared. He fake gobbled his son up, leaving the little one giggling like a hyena.

Fuegoleon was the reason Nebra was here. As promising as her brother and their shared crush’s little bastard was, he had been more of an afterthought from the beginning...

* * *

“I think you would be the best suited to train Leocadio in the use of his magic.”

Nebra looked up from her tea cup, and Nozel, who was balancing Leocadio on his knee, said, “Are you and I insufficient to train our own son?” The words sounded awkward on his lips.

Because they are Awkward, Nebra thought, smirking.

“Leocadio has mist magic,” Fuegoleon said evenly. “And you are a very talented mist mage, Nebra.”

The smirk dropped from her lips. “Oh. Lots of people will have something to say about that.”

“And that is exactly why you will have nothing to do with him,” Nozel said matter-of-factly. He added to Fuegoleon, “Nebra training him is completely inappropriate.”

“Wait a moment, Brother-” Nebra started.

“The answer is no,” Nozel said firmly. “We don’t want to risk more of our reputations. Nebra especially.”

Nebra narrowed her eyes at him. “Let’s remember, brother, that you are the one who did the most damage to my reputation." The table was quiet for a moment. Nozel turned so that Fuegoleon could not see his expression matching the Michael Jordan crying face meme. She smirked back at him.

“... I am not trying to harm any of our honors, but I think the full development of Leocadio’s magic is worth having the right teacher.”

“So do I,” Nebra decided. _And maybe if I am going to risk being known as the dishonor of the Silva house, I might as well reap the benefits_. She winked at Fuegoleon, and he smiled politely, but she could see his shoulders bounce a little, like he was containing a giggle.

“I suggest you bring a change of clothes. The training will be quite strenuous,” Fuegoleon explained closer to their first session.

Nebra raised a brow. Training strenuously was unbecoming to royalty, though the Vermillions had such passion that they could easily get away with indecency like that. Most believed they enjoyed it. It was a pleasure sport like the hunt for them, but she had no such interest. “I will not work like a dog,” she said, pressing a bent finger to her lips and looking down her nose at him. “The Silva house has no need for such drudgery.”

“Vermillions hone their bodies and their minds,” Fuegoleon responded proudly. “If you need a reprieve, you can train Leocadio from a distance, but the most thorough training ends with a healing soak in the Vermillion bath house.”

 _I can see that_ , Nebra thought, eyes drifting to the well defined muscles of his neck. She narrowed her eyes at the image of Fuegoleon drenched in sweat, glowing with powerful mana, and showing more muscle than just his broad neck. “How undignified,” she scoffed, even though her cheeks heated up at the thought. She didn’t allow her mind to venture to his bathhouse. Anything happening there would be far too out of character for Fuegoleon Vermillion, and more importantly, her blush would become noticeable- her cool complexion was unforgiving when it came to that. “I can handle training a child without a drop of sweat.”

He laughed in a good-natured way. “Of course. I would expect nothing less of a Silva!”

* * *

And so Nebra arrived at the Vermillion household under enough cover to at least pretend she was hiding what she was doing. Their ‘training’ up until now was eye roll inducing. Playing tag? Pretending to be monsters? She almost felt embarrassed just watching Fuegoleon rolling in the bright green grass and fake wrestling a baby. Her eyes drifted to the clouds above. _Maybe I could enjoy training like this if it were just the two of us,_ she thought, smirking to herself.

“Alright, now it’s time to train your magic!” Fuegoleon declared, setting Leocadio on his feet in front of him. The child was panting like a dog, but his eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. “And we have someone special here to teach you. Your Aunt Nebra has magic a lot like yours. Go greet her!”

Leocadio charged at her at full speed. She cringed, but he stopped short and bowed emphatically at the waist.

She curled her lip slightly looking down at the little bastard. “Well-”

“Thanyu, Aunt Neba!”

“Not yet, Cade. Don’t interrupt!” Fuegoleon corrected gently.

Nebra scoffed. “As I was saying. Why don’t you start by showing me what you can actually do?”

Leocadio looked to Fuegoleon hopefully, and his father nodded. Lifting his sticky little hands in the air, the child released a wave of magic. Steam exploded from his palms, thick and hot. 

Nebra’s eyebrows rose as the space around her filled with a mist of heavy droplets. She could hardly make out the kid’s palms, just a few feet in front of her. The heat was oppressive, and the heavy water clung to her skin. The courtyard was a sauna in this child’s hands. Within seconds, she was drenched in sweat. In that regard, it felt much different from the cool, light mist magic Nebra used. Hers was often so fine as to not be felt by those around her. This vapor had the heat of Fuegoleon’s mana, and the weight of Nozel’s.

But the way the drops of water flowed with ripples of mana was the same as her own mist when it had been completely unrefined. The mana eddied, swirled, and bunched. An unpracticed mage would not be able to detect much in the freely rolling cloud just by virtue of the amount present and its constant motion, but Nebra could pick through its patterns and identify Fuegoleon and Leocadio by their mana, and even by just their movements. It was as easy as seeing where a stone had landed in water based on the ripples it sent out- almost easier than looking at them in the open sunlight. She could tell, too, that the bunches in the magic like a stitch that tugged too tight on its cloth were where Cade was trying to make the mist take shape. She could even tell, by their random and numerous appearance and the way they fizzled out, that they were unintentional. Leocadio’s mind was wandering, naturally trying to make something of the moving cloud but feeling no obligation to commit. A child so young didn’t have the concentration to pull a lasting shape together, but Nebra experienced that same sensation when she laid in bed and let her magic go without a single thing on her mind. 

The mask of the mist coupled with its familiarity made her forget the heat for a moment. Her shoulders went slack, her eyes eased closed, and she let her carefully maintained expression fall. She relaxed. And then she unrelaxed and felt pissed that Nozel got a free son with their crush, and that son took after _her._ If she had known Leocadio would be the perfect pupil, and Nozel had been less of an ass, maybe she really would have married Fuegoleon out of convenience, and been the picture of success without even having to personally make a kid. She let her breath hiss out between her teeth before saying, “There’s a lot you could do with this. Come here. What do you want to do with your magic?”

Leocadio’s hand searched blindly through his own magic and he grabbed her skirt. He made a vague noise like a hummed ‘I don’t know.’

She put a hand on his head. A thought crept into her mind, and pulled the smirk back onto her lips. _I am going to steal him from Nozel..._ _Oh yes,_ she thought, _I will be the fun aunt_. “Let’s play magic hide and seek. You count, and your daddy and I will hide. But you have to keep the mist up.” Learning to place things in his own cloud would be easy. Fuegoleon would recognize the value to sensing the mana, and Leocadio’s ability would become impressive not just because of mana sense, but because he would be able to read the movement of the mist. 

“That’s a great idea,” Fuegoleon praised.

She could practically imagine the child’s brows raising. Without looking, she knew that he had stuck his tongue out thoughtfully. A weird quirk, but that wasn’t her problem. “Can you count to ten?” she asked.

He nodded, sending rivulets of mist curling around his head.

“Okay.” She took his hands, folded them in front of him, and leaned her face close enough that he could see it. “Ready?” 

Again, he nodded. He looked at his fingers, and started counting on them. “One… two…”

She turned and jogged through the mist. It would be easier for him to detect them if they were moving quickly. A long forgotten memory of playing games like this with Nozel when she was little sprung up in her mind. _That’s right, we did this all the time!_ Occasionally even Solid was there, but the way she and Nozel had played with Solid had been less about fun and more about training; she could even imagine her little brother resenting their games. Still, those were good memories for her.

Fuegoleon ran through the mist, too. Both his swift movements and his indomitable mana gave him the subtlety of a bedazzled pink peacock to Nebra despite his quick, quiet footsteps. 

But this magic was new for Leocadio! He finished counting and looked around like there was absolutely nothing to see. He picked a random direction, flitted this way and that, and didn’t notice the two mages running circles around him. He spent a long while searching, long enough that Nebra feared he might be missing the point.

She stopped to catch her breath and sigh. She liked the feeling of water on her skin, and so it hadn’t occurred to her to put on mana skin, but the heat was really weighing on her. She wasn’t used to running around without a good dose of strengthening magic. Something about the freedom of playing a childhood game had made her forget all about it. _Oh gods, I’m sweating like a pig,_ she realized.

Leocadio perked up. He started toward Fuegoleon, who was still also free of mana skin, and doing something like running in place, or maybe a silly dance that he didn’t expect anyone could see. Fuegoleon moved slowly, but emphatically away, giving his son a good wake of vapor and mana to follow. Leocadio picked up speed, and Fuegoleon kept up the chase for a short while before letting himself be tackled to the ground. 

“Got you!” Dio squealed.

“You did! You caught me!” Fuegoleon laughed, hugging him close. “Good job! Now you just need to find Aunt Nebra.”

Leocadio nodded eagerly and jumped up. Nebra took that as her cue to get moving again. The next quarter hour or so, Leocadio slowly picked up more and more from his mist. Nebra didn’t want to give him any crutches, so she didn’t put on mana skin; it would be too easy to find. Besides, she would be trying much too late to save herself from this particular injustice. She was already completely soaked, and her hair stuck to her sweaty face in thick clumps. Despite that… _I can’t believe I’m having a good time!_

When Nebra was satisfied with her nephew’s progress, she let him approach, walking slowly backward. _What do I say when he finds me?_ Any member of the magic knights could tell praise wasn’t her strong suit. _I’ll just have to copy Fuegoleon._

A tiny hand grasped her skirt. 

“You got me,” she said, planting her hand on his head before he could try to tackle her. “Good work, Dio.”

Leocadio smiled up at her. The mist around them began to dissipate, revealing beams of red and yellow sunlight falling through the clouds from the late afternoon sky. He rubbed his eyes, and she could see that he was exhausted. His hair and clothes clung to him, heavy and wet from the steam. _Perhaps it was a little unfair to make him push his mana for so long,_ she mused. She could tell that he was as magically spent as he was physically, but she guessed that the child was less aware of his own limitations. He wrapped his arms around her leg and buried his face in her side. "Again…" he mumbled, leaning on her.

Nebra stared down at him, unsure what to do, until Fuegoleon saved the day by trotting over and scooping him up. "Excellent work!" he praised. He continued to speak with his son, but Nebra wasn't listening. His mane of red hair managed to look like it was supposed to be slicked back by a layer of sweat, caught in a thin beam of light that bounced through the falling mist. His skin glistened, and because he wasn't wearing his full Crimson Lion robes, she could practically see through the drenched shirt that stuck to his muscular chest. But his face and other parts of him were obscured by lingering swirls of vapor, his edges foggy and dream-like. The moment hardly felt real.

Nebra, losing herself, started to reach out to put a hand on his pec.

"Nooo!" Leocadio's cry, _thank goodness,_ snapped her out of it, and she retracted her hand like a reverse snake. The steam thinned, and all their sweat-beaded faces were revealed. "No bath!" Leocadio wailed, his face cherry red with indignation. If the child's temper tantrum had not saved her, she might have made a snide comment about it, but she had been too close to embarrassing herself and now she had to regain her composure. 

_The heat must be getting to me..._

"Now, don't be like that," Fuegoleon admonished. "I will be taking a bath, too." He looked to Nebra. "Would you like to join us? It doesn't feel right sending you home in such a state. You could borrow a set of my sister's clothes while they wash yours." He smiled apologetically. “Maybe I should have warned you more about his magic.”

Nebra put her bent finger to her lips and looked away, “Maybe,” she scoffed. “It would be completely inappropriate for you to send me off like this. What would my family think? I can’t believe that the captain of the Crimson Lions would make such an oversight.”

“I knew I could not contend with a Silva’s pride enough to convince you,” he chuckled. “What was it you said? You can train a child without breaking a sweat.” He turned and motioned her to follow, saving her from having to come up with a comeback for that. “Look Cade, everyone is taking a bath. That means you have to, as well.”

Leocadio whimpered and cried, but he didn’t have the energy to sincerely object. It was enough that everyone knew his displeasure.

The Vermillion bathhouse was split into two sides, just like the Silva’s. There were a variety of soaps, shampoos, conditioners, and moisturizing oils, but Nebra didn’t experiment. Silva hair was delicate and consistency was key. Nebra washed off and carefully redid her hair before continuing to the actual bath. It was a large room with a wide, shallow pool in the center. The floor and walls had simple, but elegant designs. Across the center of the room, there was also a thick curtain dividing the bath in half. The vapor that hung in the air made sensing Fueogoleon and Leocadio (who were already relaxing in the water on the other side) easy with Nebra’s magic, even though they were on the other side. Leocadio was kneeling on the seat, resting his head on his arms and his arms on the lip of the pool, while Fuegoleon sat leaning his back peacefully against the edge, keeping an eye on his child and enjoying the water. 

Nebra pulled her attention away from the mist as not to spy. She eased into the warm water and sighed in contentment.

“I hope I didn’t offend you,” Fuegoleon said from the other side of the curtain. “Nozel and I have always had this ongoing rivalry, and sometimes I know that extends to our houses. However, I don’t think I’ve really spent much time with you alone, or asked your opinion on the matter… And considering how much negative attention you’ve earned from our actions, I think your opinion is really one we should be keeping in mind.”

Nebra leaned her head back. “I have thicker skin than that. I can handle any treatment you give my brother. As for my opinion, I think you’ve handled things better than he has. I can appreciate that.”

“That’s good to hear. As undignified as you say training like a Vermillion is, it really suits you. Leocadio and I had a wonderful time.”

Her cheeks colored, and she sunk deeper, so the water came just to her chin.“I saw some virtue in such a simple method for a child, so I was being flexible.”

“I’m grateful,” he said genially. “I hope you feel comfortable continuing as his mentor. I think it would be prudent of us to become closer so we can ensure Leocadio’s teaching goes smoothly.”

Nebra put her hands over her face and thanked the curtain between them for hiding her full-faced blush. She almost didn’t trust herself to answer, for fear that she was misinterpreting his words. Clearing her throat to ensure she didn’t stammer, she managed, “Nozel won’t like that.”

“Nozel isn’t the type to warm up to things, but he will see merit,” Fuegoleon said confidently.

“... What did you have in mind?” She would marry him if he asked again, _Nozel be damned._ Maybe she could steal Leocadio _and_ Fuegoleon from her older brother. She knew the sentiment wouldn’t last, but she couldn’t help but entertain the thought. It was less like she was doing mental gymnastics, and more like she was falling down a mental staircase. ‘ _I warned you about the stairs, bro!’ ‘I told you dog!’_ she could practically hear her brothers teasing.

“Why don’t you stay for dinner?” he offered.

“Oh,” she muttered.

“What was that?”

“Nothing,” she spoke up. “Fine. If I’m left waiting for my clothes, it only makes sense that you should repay me for my time.” She stood and grabbed a towel from a shelf by the door. Best to leave this conversation before she really managed to let something embarrassing slip out. “I’ll see you then.”

Mereoleona’s clothes did not fit. They weren’t flattering, and Nebra was really in the mood to be flattered right now. Peering at herself in the mirror of a spare room, she did her best to tighten the cords of the dark blue cloak around her and adjust the tunic so it didn’t sag too much from her narrow shoulders. Leocadio was napping before dinner, so she had plenty of time to fret. And most of that fretting was spent making sure the dumb tunic wasn’t hanging halfway to her belly button. She wasn’t _desperate_. Unfortunately, it was more about avoiding looking bad than looking good.

Things were as good as they were going to get by the time a maidservant called her to dinner. She followed her downstairs and sat at a surprisingly small table. She had pictured eating at a dining room table, long enough that they might not be able to read each other’s expressions well from either end. This was more like a breakfast nook. It all felt too intimate, but she didn’t let her surprise show.

Fuegoleon was already there, putting Leocadio in a booster seat so he could see over the table. In her fussing, Nebra had forgotten the baby would be there. Her expression was surely a little disappointed when he greeted her. “Hi, Aunt Neba!” Leocadio peeped.

“Hey,” she said, sitting at the seat the servant pulled out for her.

“I hope you’re comfortable. I know those clothes aren’t a perfect fit. We’ll be more careful with Leocadio’s magic next time.”

Nebra scoffed. “We will, but I look good with my clothes in any condition.”

He smiled at her, his eyes going askance in a boyish way. “Of course. But I wouldn’t want to test your patience.”

Dishes were placed in front of them: a fancy, hearty meal. “Would you like a drink? The selection we have here is a bit strong, and I know Nozel isn’t much of a drinker, but I don’t know your preferences.”

She looked at the bottle in the hands of the servant beside her. “How often do you and Nozel drink together?”

“Oh, that’s right. You weren’t at most of those get-togethers. I think you’ll enjoy this, then.” He held his glass as the servant filled it, and then he set it aside so he could cut Leocadio’s meal into smaller pieces. “Especially if Nozel hasn’t told you the kind of trouble we got in as boys, himself.”

She narrowed her eyes. _Talking about himself and Nozel when they were young… Does he only see me as the younger sister?_ She held up her glass for the servant to fill. That image couldn’t stand. She would use her Silva charm to convince him that she was a better drinker than Nozel. Keeping unaffected by two drinks would be enough, and she could pace herself. Silvas weren’t good drinkers, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t handle such an easy task. “Tell me more.” She took a sip and hid her cringe at the sharp burn. 

“Don’t judge us too harshly,” he disclaimed. He chuckled at her raised brow. “We were just boys, then, and we were trying to prove ourselves. My sister, of course, was an instigator, as always…”

Nebra smirked, thinking of the stories from Mereoleona and Nozel’s wedding. She had not personally attended, but she knew the pair had been too stubborn to admit that they shouldn’t be getting married. Fuegoleon had finally spoken up in objection, and Mereoleona had turned it around on him with the implication that he was jealous. “Yes, I’m sure,” she agreed.

“Well, one night, she dragged us and several of our friends out to a frozen lake in the woods and left us there. We solemnly vowed to show our grit and stamina and to return on our own.”

Nebra raised a brow, trying to imagine Nozel, Fuegoleon, and a group of other rowdy teens trekking through the snow. It was hard picturing her brother getting caught up in something so ridiculous… but then again, if Mereoleona was involved, he probably didn’t have much of a choice. _How old could I have been, then? Eight?_ She guessed. “That doesn’t sound so bad. I’m sure I could have even come along.”

“Me too, daddy!” Leocadio peeped. His little voice chiming in made Nebra feel even more juvenile.

He smiled. “Maybe. Our friends walked around the lake to return home, but Nozel and I decided we were too brave, and we would go over it, so we split off from the rest of the group.” Gesturing nonchalantly, he added, “It is amazing the lengths you’ll go through to impress someone important to you like a rival…” His smile grew sheepish, and he put his hands over Leocadio’s ears, much to the child’s offense. “There might have been some alcohol involved, too.”

Giggling, Nebra took another sip of her drink. Luckily, her throat was going numb and it wasn’t too unpleasant. She could focus on his story. The notepad in her mind was scribbling all this information down furiously. She couldn’t believe all the material she was getting on Nozel. Next time he got snarky, she had some knowledge to drop on him.

Leocadio pushed his father’s hands away as the story continued. “We were nearly to the opposite shore when the ice broke under my feet. To Nozel’s credit, he jumped in without hesitation to help, but I was the one who dragged us to shore,” Fuegoleon puffed his chest. “We tried to trudge back like that, but it grew obvious that we needed to dry off, and we needed shelter. We found a cave to stay in, and I warmed us up. Nozel is much… friendlier when he’s tipsy, soaking, and needs to get warm.”

 _Friendlier?_ Her brows rose, and she laughed, putting her hand in front of her mouth so as not to look too unrefined. “I can’t wait to ask him about that.”

He laughed with her, and Leocadio looked between them with his brow furrowed and his tongue sticking out pensively.

The meal passed smoothly, first with them sharing embarrassing stories about Nozel, and then branching out into other topics. The servants flitted dutifully around them, taking away their dishes and serving the next course. Nebra was accustomed to such treatment at the Silva house. It wasn’t until dessert that Fuegoleon noted, “You really can hold your drink better than Nozel.”

Nebra looked to her half-full glass with a smirk; she had forgotten her plan to prove herself a better drinker, and she hardly noticed herself drinking it. “If half a glass impresses you, he doesn’t set the bar high,” she scoffed.

Fuegoleon’s eyes widened, and he opened his mouth, then closed it again.

“What?” she asked, raising a brow impatiently. She glanced back at her glass, saw it full, and slowly, so slowly, the gears in her mind started turning.

“Let’s be done with that for the evening,” Fuegoleon told the servant with the bottle, raising his hand to add urgency to the request.

“They… wait for us to finish our glass before refilling it at the Silva house,” Nebra said. Her light, fuzzy mood was starting to make even more sense, now. As charming as Fuegoleon was, she wasn’t usually so quick to let her guard down.

“I apologize for the misunderstanding,” he said seriously.

She scoffed. “You don’t need to be so concerned. I’m fine.” But she pushed the refilled glass of alcohol away and picked up her water. _How much longer do I have to sober up?_ she thought frantically. _How much did I drink?_ She glanced at Leocadio to avoid Fuegoleon’s gaze. Did her face have a drunken flush? Almost certainly, now that she was thinking about it. In a self-fulfilling prophecy, she could feel heat rush to her cheeks.

Leocadio was watching her curiously as he pushed a few stray blueberries around in whipped cream on his plate. “What wong?”

“Nothing,” she hissed at him.

Fuegoleon rose and picked up Leocadio. Giving him a kiss on the head, he said, “Why don’t you go change into your pyjamas?”

Leocadio blinked, but let his father point him toward one of the servants, who led him away by the hand.

Nebra focused on drinking her water. She didn’t want to leave yet, and she didn’t want to get up, now feeling like she was at a precarious point of intoxication where moving would tip her over the edge.

“I really am sorry,” Fuegoleon said quietly. “I should have been more aware-”

“Maybe you should have,” she said, “But there’s no harm done. Let me finish my water and change, and I’ll be on my way.”

“I could escort you home.”

She rolled her eyes, and then immediately regretted the action, but not the sentiment. “That would be completely inappropriate. I can go back on my own.”

“Maybe I could send a servant back with you.”

Some sluggish, drunken alarm was ringing in her chest. _What does he see that has him so concerned? Or is he really just being proactive?_ She set down the empty glass. “I am a member of the Silver Eagles and of the prestigious house Silva. I can fend for myself.” 

“Of course,” he said. “Forgive me.”

“I will consider it.” Nebra took a breath, steeled herself, and rose. She stood, she hoped, for only a brief moment with her hands on the table, adjusting to the new altitude. This was much more than half a glass’s worth of fog spinning around her head, but she could not let on that she was so affected. “I hope you are more prudent in the future.”

“This will not happen again,” he promised, and he was closer than he had been before, walking calmly toward her.

She stepped away from the table, concentrating very hard on acting normal. She breathed a sigh of relief when her legs cooperated, and she didn’t need his help. It still felt like she was precariously balanced, and she felt that she should keep moving forward. Walking away would come off as more aloof, she decided, and so she lifted her chin and walked away from Fuegoleon.

But it couldn’t be so easy. Mereoleona’s cloak, too big for her, and thus unwieldy, caught the arm of the chair. _This one’s going in the cringe compilation_ , she thought, feeling even such an insignificant tug pull her off balance. It felt like slow motion, the pattern on the room’s walls swinging, a blur of red, and then her face hit something soft. A hand squeezed her arm.

Her face was in Fuegoleon’s chest, his voluminous pecs cushioning her fall. His hand grasped her arm to stop her from slipping down it. One of her hands, which she had put out to stop her fall, was on his abs. The other was gripping his cloak like a lifeline. Her heart pounded in her chest, faster than his, and the fact that she could feel the difference meant he might be able to feel it too. Her face felt on fire, and she couldn’t bring herself to take it out of his chest, because that meant she would have to _look at him._

“Are you okay?” he asked dutifully.

 _Oh gods, I have to say something!_ Suddenly, the only thing she could think to say was a mortifying reference he would certainly not understand. _I’ve got a new anime plot. There’s this squad captain, except he’s got huge boobs. I mean some serious honkers. A real set of badonkers. Packing some dobonhonkeros-_

“Maybe you should stay here for tonight.” He carefully extracted her from his cleavage and supported her with his fire arm at the small of her back. He placed the other in front of her, where she could hold onto it. It was a very gentlemanly way for him to hold her.

“V-very well,” she said. “I think you owe me at least that.”

He led her to the guest room, where her clothes were now set out for her, and tucked her in. She didn’t trust herself to say anything about that, but as he turned out the light, Nebra swallowed and spoke up. “Do not tell Nozel about this.”

Fuegoleon offered her an apologetic smile. “I won’t if you won’t.”


End file.
